Combination ski binding strap and ski boot fastener

ABSTRACT

A combination strap-fastener for use in keeping a pair of skis and a pair of ski boots together as a unit for storage or while the skis and boots are not in use. The device includes a flexible, resilient strap adapted to encircle a pair of skis when the same are contiguous to each other, the strap having means for releasably interconnecting its ends to removably hold the strap about the skis. The strap has a pair of fasteners at respective ends thereof for releasable attachment to loops on respective ski boots to releasably couple the ski boots to the skis as a unit.

United States Patent [191 Dini [4 1 Sept. 16, 1975 COMBINATION SKIBINDING STRAP AND SKI BOOT FASTENER [22] Filed: Mar. 5, 1974 [21] Appl.No.: 448,302

[52] US. Cl. 280/ll.37 A; 24/73 SG; 224/45 S [51] Int. Cl. A63C ll/02[58] Field of Search 280/1 1.37 A, 11.37 K; 224/45 S, 52; 24/73 SG, 81SR, 73 A, 73 HR,

73 HH, 73 TH, 73 I-IL, DIG. 29, 231, 236

2,031,250 2/1969 France 280/1 1.37 A 183,000 1/1955 Austria 280/1 1.37 A238,071 6/1945 Switzerland 280/1 1.37 K

Primary Examiner-David Schonberg Assistant Examiner-David M. Mitchell [57] ABSTRACT A combination strap-fastener for use in keeping a pair ofskis and a pair of ski boots together as a unit for storage or while theskis and boots are not in use. The device includes a flexible, resilientstrap adapted to encircle a pair of skis when the same are contiguous toeach other, the strap having means for releasably interconnecting itsends to removably hold the strap about the skis. The strap has a pair offasteners at respective ends thereof for releasable attachment to loopson respective ski boots to releasably couple the ski boots to the skisas a unit.

4 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures COMBINATION SKI BINDING STRAP AND SKI BOOTFASTENER This invention relates to improvements in the handling andstoring of skis and ski boots and, more particularly, to structure forkeeping skis and ski boots together as a unit.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION When a pair of skis are put away for storageor otherwise placed in a standby position during periods of nonuse, theskis are generally bound together by strap means of some type. When sobound, the skis are in face-to-face relationship with the bottom of oneski abutting the bottom of the other ski. This minimizes the spacerequired to store the skis and protects the bottom surfaces of the skiswhile preventing separation of the same from each other.

When skis are stored in the manner described, ski boots are generallyplaced near the skis, such as on the floor or the like which supportsthe skis. By their very nature, ski boots can be easily moved from oneplace to another, such as by being kicked or otherwise shifted out of adesired location. When this occurs, the ski boots can oftentimes becomehidden behind other objects or moved far enough away from their skis asto be completely separate therefrom.

In other situations, such as on ski slopes or near ski lodges, it isdesirable to keep each pair of ski boots as close to the correspondingpair of skis as possible to avoid confusion as to the ownership of skisand boots. This is important because of the similarity in appearance ofmany types of skis and boots. Also, in carrying the skis, it isextremely helpful to be able to carry a pair of ski boots easily andconveniently with the skis.

Because of the foregoing, a need has, therefore, arisen for some meansto more positively keep a pair of ski boots and a pair of skis togetherto avoid separation of the same.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to structurefor keeping a pair of skis and a pair of ski boots together as a unit toprevent separation of the ski boots from the skier. To this end, thestructure of the present invention includes a flexible strap forsurrounding a pair of skis when the same are in face-to-facerelationship so that the skis themselves can be releasably boundtogether. The strap is generally resilient to assure a tight binding ofthe skis so that they can be placed in a generally upright or inclinedposition without fear of any relative movement between the skis. Thestrap has means for interconnecting its opposite ends. Also, the straphas fastening means thereon for connecting a pair of ski boots thereto.Generally, a ski boot has one or more buckles for use in securing theboot on the foot. The fastening means on the strap is releasably coupledto such a buckle to connect the ski boot to the strap.

In a preferred embodiment, the strap has a hooklike clip fastener ateach of its ends, respectively. Thus, there is a fastener for each of apair of ski boots and the latter can be connected by way of thefasteners directly to the strap and thereby to the pair of skis bound bythe strap itself. The ski boots can be carried at any height, generallyat a location midway between the ends of the skis so that the skis andthe boots form a unit made up of separable parts. In this way, the skiboots can be stored or carried with the skis and cannot be separatedtherefrom without the manual manipulation of the fasteners holding theski boots on the strap.

Theprimary object of this invention is to provide an improved skibinding unit having means thereon for releasably attaching a pair of skiboots thereto so that the ski boots and a pair of skis can be coupledtogether as a unit to permit the ski boots to be stored or otherwiseplaced in a standby condition along with the skis to prevent separationof the skis and boots from each other.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved ski bindingunit which comprises a flexible, resilient strap having means thereonfor interconnecting the ends thereof when the strap encircles a pair ofskis, wherein the strap also includes one or more fasteners forinterconnecting a pair of ski boots thereto so that the ski boots andthe skis are coupled together to prevent their separation from eachother until the ski boots and the skis are to be placed in use.

Other objects of this invention will become apparent as the followingspecification progresses, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawing for an illustration of the invention.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the combination strap and fastener ofthis invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a pair of skis bound together by thepresent invention and showing a pair of ski boots attached to thefasteners thereof; and

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of a pair of skis and a pair of skiboots coupled together as a unit by the combination strap and fastenerof this invention.

The device of the present invention is broadly denoted by the numeral 10and includes an elongated strap 12 of resilient material, such as rubberor the like. Strap 12 typically is about 5 to 6 inches in length andabout %-inch in width. It has a first boss 14 integral therewith at oneend thereof for mounting a first closed loop 16 of relatively rigidwire. The loop is pivotal about a central axis through boss 14width-wise of strap 12. The loop can pivot through an arc of slightlyless than Strap 12 has a second boss 18 at its opposite end forpivotally mounting a second closed loop 20 of rigid wire. Because boss18 is at the opposite end of the strap, loop 20 can pivot through anangle greater than 180.

A fastening member 22 is pivotally coupled to loop 20 in the mannershown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Member 22 has a .I-shaped body 23 as shown inFIG. 2 so that it can be removably placed along one side margin of oneof a pair of skis 24. Thus, the side margin of the ski is disposedbetween first and second generally parallel sides 26 and 28 of member22.

A lateral projection 30 integral with member 22 extends from bight 32thereof and has an angled outer end portion. Projection 30 acts as ahook for receiving loop 16 when strap 12 is partially wrapped aroundskis 24 when the latter are in face-to-face relationship as shown inFIG. 2. Typically, the strap must be stretched for loop 16 to be loopedover projection 30. Thus, the strap will be under tension when it is inthe operative position of FIGS. 2 and 3 and thereby more effectivelyhold skis 24 together. In this way, the skis are kept from beingseparated from each other and the bottom surfaces of the skis areprotected.

Loops l6 and 20 are provided with respective clip fasteners 34 and 36 asshown in FIG. 1. Each of these fasteners includes a J-shaped orhook-shaped main body 38 which'is pivotally mounted by an end pin 40 ona rigid loop 42. Loop 42 of fastener 34 is received through loop 16 ofthe strap and loop 42 of fastener 36 is received through loop 20 of thestrap. A spring clip 44 closes the opening to the hook portion of body38 of each fastener, respectively, to releasably hold or lock a bootbuckle or the like to the fastener.

Fasteners 34 and 36 are adapted to connect a pair of ski boots 46 and 48to strap 12. To this end, the fasteners can attach themselves to thebuckles on the boots or any other part of the boots where a releasableconnection can be made. As shown in FIG. 2, each fastener is coupled toa buckle 50 of a ski boot.

When it is desired to use device 10, it is first placed about a pair ofjuxtaposed skis 24 and the ends of the strap are interconnected byplacing loop 16 over projection 30. Then fasteners 34 and 36 are coupledto buckles 50 on respective ski boots to connect the latter to the strapand thereby to skis 24. As shown in FIG. 3, the skis and boots areassembled together as a unit with device 10. In this condition, the skisand boots can be stored or carried without becoming separated from eachother.

When it is desired to use the skis and boots, the boots are firstseparated from fasteners 34 and 36 and then strap 12 is removed from theskis. Device can then be placed in a garment pocket since it is smalland flexible enough to easily fit into a pocket even though fasteners 34and 36 remain attached to the strap. Also, de vice 10 can be clipped onother portions of a garment if no pocket is available. The parts ofdevice 10 can also be made cheaply and such parts can easily beassembled and readily packaged at minimum expense.

Device 10 can also be used to carry a pair of ski boots over theshoulder. To this end, strap 12 will extend over the shoulder with a skiboot in front and a ski boot in back. In lieu of being carried over theshoulder, device 10 can be hand-carried with a pair of ski bootsattached thereto.

I claim: 1. In combination: a flexible strap of resilient materialhaving a pair of opposed ends and means adjacent to the ends thereof forreleasably interconnecting the same, the strap being adapted to extendabout a pair of juxtaposed skis to hold the same together when said endsare interconnected; a fastener for each end of the strap, respectively,each fastener having means for receiving the buckle of a ski boot andfor releasably holding the buckle against removal therefrom; saidinterconnecting means including means connected to said strap andcoupled with each fastener, respectively, for attaching the same to arespective end of the strap.

2. The combination as set forth in claim 1, wherein said attaching meansat each end of the strap includes a loop pivotally coupled to the strap,each fastener being pivotally coupled to a respective loop.

3. The combination as set forth in claim 2, wherein said interconnectingmeans includes a J-shaped member pivotally coupled to one of the loopsand having a hook-defining projection receivable in the other loop tointerconnect the loops and thereby the ends of the straps.

4. The combination as set forth in claim I, wherein each fastenerincludes a hook having an open part for receiving a buckle of a ski bootand a spring closure for closing the open part of the hook.

1. In combination: a flexible strap of resilient material having a pairof opposed ends and means adjacent to the ends thereof for releasablyinterconnecting the same, the strap being adapted to extend about a pairof juxtaposed skis to hold the same together when said ends areinterconnected; a fastener for each end of the strap, respectively, eachfastener having means for receiving the buckle of a ski boot and forreleasably holding the buckle against removal therefrom; saidinterconnecting means including means connected to said strap andcoupled with each fastener, respectively, for attaching the same to arespective end of the strap.
 2. The combination as set forth in claim 1,wherein said attaching means at each end of the strap includes a looppivotally coupled to the strap, each fastener being pivotally coupled toa respective loop.
 3. The combination as set forth in claim 2, whereinsaid interconnecting means includes a J-shaped member pivotally coupledto one of the loops and having a hook-defining projection receivable inthe other loop to interconnect the loops and thereby the ends of thestraps.
 4. The combination as set forth in claim 1, wherein eachfastener includes a hook having an open part for receiving a buckle of aski boot and a spring closure for closing the open part of the hook.